Ribbon transporting arrangement

ABSTRACT

A typewriter ribbon is carried by a ribbon lifter and advanced therethrough in response to the movement of the ribbon lifter. The ribbon is frictionally engaged for advancement by a drive roller carrying a coiled clutch spring and rotational movement is imparted to the drive roller by an actuating linkage connected to the ribbon lifter and having a pair of spaced-apart abutments for engaging a free end of the clutch spring. Movement of the actuating linkage in one direction constricts the clutch spring and rotates the drive roller, while movement of the actuating linkage in a reverse direction enlarges the clutch spring to effect relative rotational movement with the drive roller. The advancement of the ribbon in response to the movement of the ribbon lifter is selectively controlled by adjusting means for varying the distance between the pair of spaced-apart abutments of the actuating linkage.

United States Patent [191 Hengelhaupt [451 Sept. 10, 1974 [73] Assignee: Triumph Werke Nuernberg, AG,

Nuemberg, Germany [22] Filed: Apr. 12, 1973 [21] Appl. N0.: 350,522

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data IBM Technical Disclosure Bulletin, Variable Increment Drive, M. Henkel, Vol. 7, No. 6, November 1964, p. 526.

Primary Examiner-Emest T. WrightJr. Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Joseph R. Spalla; Keith D. Moore [5 7] ABSTRACT A typewriter ribbon is carried by a ribbon lifter and advanced therethrough in response to the movement of the ribbon lifter. The ribbon is frictionally engaged for advancement by a drive roller carrying a coiled clutch spring and rotational movement is imparted to the drive roller by an actuating linkage connected to the ribbon lifter and having a pair of spaced-apart abutments for engaging a free end of the clutch spring. Movement of the actuating linkage in one direction constricts the clutch spring and rotates the drive roller, while movement of the actuating linkage in a reverse direction enlarges the clutch spring to effect relative rotational movement with the drive roller. The advancement of the ribbon in response to the movement of the ribbon lifter is selectively controlled by adjusting means for varying the distance between the pair of spaced-apart abutments of the actuating linkage.

3 Claims, 2 Drawing Figures RIBBON TRANSPORTING ARRANGEMENT This invention relates to a ribbon transporting arrangement for feeding a ribbon in a typewriter.

In a typewriter or similar business machine, printing is effected by operating a type key action to place a ribbon at a printing location adjacent a platen and then impact a print element against the ribbon and the platen. The ribbon is carried in a suitable supporting structure, e. g. a ribbon fork, and with each actuation of a type key action the ribbon is advanced through the ribbon fork by an incremental length, e.g., the width of a type character, and the ribbon fork is moved from a rest position to a printing position to place the ribbon at the printing location prior to the impacting of the print element. Subsequently, the ribbon fork is returned to the rest position, and this well known movement of the ribbon is repeated with each actuation of a type key action.

Sometimes it is desirable to maximize the utilization of a ribbon, for example a non-reusable carbon ribbon which may be fed only once through a typewriter. To achieve greater utilization of a ribbon, various arrangements have been provided for moving the ribbon to slightly different levels at the printing location during successive printing operations so as to enable closely adjacent and different portions of the ribbon to be struck by the print element, thus enabling the feeding movement of the ribbon to be reduced. One such mechanism for moving the ribbon to successively different levels is in the form of a cam having multiple lobes of different amplitudes and acting on a pawl associated with the ribbon fork.

In the past, the arrangements for moving the ribbon during a printing operation have included two drive mechanisms with one drive mechanism controlling the movement of the ribbon fork and the other drive mechanism controlling the advancement or feeding of the ribbon past the ribbon fork. However, the use of two drive mechanisms is disadvantageous because of the complexity of the arrangement, the additional space required, and the expense of producing two drive mechanisms.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a ribbon transporting arrangement having only a single drive mechanism to effect the lifting of the rib bon to a printing position and the advancement of the ribbon through the ribbon lifter.

Still other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from a reading of the following detailed description of the invention, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a top view of a ribbon transporting arrangement constructed in accordance with the present invention; and

FIG. 2 is a partial sectional view taken on the line 2-2 in FIG. 1.

Referring now in detail to the figures of the drawing, there is shown a ribbon transporting arrangement, generally indicated 11, for moving a ribbon to a printing location adjacent a platen, not shown, prior to the impacting of a print element, not shown, against the platen, and for advancing the ribbon with each actuation of a type key action, not shown. As is conventional, the ribbon may be threaded in a ribbon fork, not shown, which is carried by a ribbon lifter 13, and the ribbon lifter 13 may be acted upon by a suitable drive arrangement, not shown, for moving the ribbon lifter 13 from a lowered rest position to an elevated position to place the ribbon at the printing location. In addition, the ribbon is acted upon by a ribbon feed arrangement, generally indicated 15, for advancing the ribbon through the ribbon fork as will be explained below. The platen, the print element, the type key action, the ribbon fork and the drive arrangement for the ribbon lifter 13 as well as other portions of the typewriter are not shown since they form no part of the present invention and may be conventional.

As shown, the ribbon lifter 13 is pivotally carried on a rod 17 supported by a plate 19 and the ribbon feed arrangement 15 includes a drive member 21 suitably carried for rotation on a shaft 23 which is also supported by the plate 19. Although other forms of ribbon feed arrangements 15 may be used for acting on the ribbon, in the illustrated arrangement 15 the ribbon is frictionally engaged for advancement. As shown, the drive member 21 is in the form of a cylindrical roller having a suitable sleeve 25 which the ribbon may be pressed against by an idler roller 27rotatably carried on a lever 29 and urged by suitable means, not shown, toward the drive member 21. The ribbon lifter 13 may be acted upon by the drive arrangement for movement from the lowered rest position to the elevated position by a pin or other projection received in a notch 31 formed in the ribbon lifter l3, and the drive arrangement may impart a sequence of different movements to the ribbon lifter 13 to move the ribbon to different levels at the printing location so as to enable closely adjacent portions of the ribbon to be impacted by the print element to achieve greater utilization of the ribbon.

To advance the ribbon through the ribbon fork in response to the movement of the ribbon lifter 13 between the lowered rest position and the elevated position, the ribbon transporting arrangement 11 includes coupling means for imparting rotational movement to the roller 21. As shown, the coupling means includes a clutch spring 33 for gripping a reduced portion 35 of the roller 21 and an actuating linkage 37 for acting on the clutch spring 33 in response to the movement of the ribbon lifter 13. The actuating linkage 37 is pivotally connected at pivot 38 to the ribbon lifter l3 and slidably carried on the plate 19 by a flange portion 39 which acts on the clutch spring 33. The clutch spring 33 has a free end 41 extending from the drive roller.21 and serving as a control portion of the clutch spring 33 to effect gripping or releasing of the drive roller 21. To control the operation of the clutch spring 33, the actuating linkage 37 has a pair of spaced-apart abutments 43, for engaging the control porton 4l of the clutch spring 33. As shown, the abutment 43 is an edge of the actuating linkage 37 and the other abutment 45 is a pin carried on the end of a lever47 and slidably disposed in aslot 49 which is formed inthe flangev 39 of the actuating linkage 37 and extends away from the edge abutment 43.

Normally, the ribbon lifter 13 is biased to the lowered rest position by a spring 51 stretched from the flange 39 of the actuating linkage 37 and urging the pin abutment 45 into engagement with the control portion 41 of the clutch spring 33. In addition, the drive roller 21 is braked against rotational movement by a brake spring 53 coiled about theshaft 23 in frictional engagement therewith and having an end portion 55 extending from the shaft 23 and suitably secured to the drive roller 21.

When the ribbon lifter 13 is moved from the lowered rest position to the elevated position during a printing operation, the actuating linkage 37 slides along the plate 19 to remove the pin abutment 45 from engagement with the clutch spring 33 and bring the edge abutment 43 into contact with the control portion 41. The continued sliding movement of the actuating linkage 37 acts on the clutch spring 33 to constrict it about the reduced portion 35 of the drive roller 21 and impart rotational movement thereto. At the same time, the movement of the drive roller 21 acts on the end portion 55 of the brake spring 53 to enlarge it and permit rotational movement about the shaft 23.

After the impacting of the print element against the platen, the ribbon lifter 13 is returned to the lowered rest position and slides the actuating linkage 37 in a reverse direction, thereby removing the edge abutment 43 from the clutch spring 33 and bringing the pin abutment 45 into contact with the control portion 41. The drive roller 21 is prevented from reversely rotating by the frictional engagement of the brake spring 53, and the pin abutment 45 acts on the control portion 41 to enlarge the clutch spring 33 and rotate it relative to the drive roller 21 as the actuating linkage 37 slides along the plate 19. When the ribbon lifter 13 is returned to the lowered rest position, the final position of the control portion 41 is determined by the position of the pin abutment 45.

When greater utilization of the ribbon is sought by imparting successively different movements to the ribbon lifter 13 for moving the ribbon to different levels at the printing position, the actuating linkage 37 undergoes successively different movements and imparts correspondingly different rotational movements to the drive roller 21. Nevertheless, generally uniform advancement of the ribbon is obtained by making the sum of the successively different rotational movements approximately equal to the width of a type character From the foregoing, it is apparent that the length of ribbon advanced through the ribbon fork with each printing operation is determined by the rotational movement imparted to the drive member 21 and is dependent on the spacing between the edge abutment 43 and the pin abutment 45. The drive roller 21 is rotated only by the movement of the control portion 41 of the clutch spring 33, and the rotational movement may be varied by changing the distance between the abutments 43, 45. When the distance between the abutments 43, 45 is increased, the engagement with the control portion 41 is reduced along with the rotational movement of the drive roller 21. Conversely, a reduction in the distance between the abutments 43, 45 serves to increase the rotational movement of the drive roller 21.

To control the rotational movement imparted to the drive roller 21 in response to the movement of the ribbon lifter 13, the ribbon transport arrangement 11 is provided with adjusting means, generally indicated 59, for selectively varying the distance between the edge abutment 43 and the pin abutment 45. As shown, the adjusting means 59 includes the lever 47 having a pivot pin 61 formed thereon which is received in a detent arrangement, generally indicated 63, on the plate 19 for rotatably supporting the lever 47 in a plurality of different positions. The detent arrangement 63 is formed in the plate 19 by an opening 65 having a configuration defining two notches 67, 69 separated by a curved surface 71, and the pivot pin 61 of the lever 47 is urged into one of the notches 67, 69 by a spring 73 suitably secured to the plate 19. Accordingly, the distance between the edge abutment 43 and the pin abutment 45 may be selectively adjusted by moving the pivot pin 61 between the detent notches 67, 69 to slide the pin abutment 45 in the slot 49. To facilitate the movement of the pivot pin 61, the lever 47 has an arm 75 which may be acted upon by means of a suitable eccentric screw, not shown.

What is claimed is:

1. in a typewriter, the combination comprising:

a ribbon lifter for carrying a ribbon and being movable from a lowered rest position to an elevated position to place the ribbon at a printing position, drive member having a cylindrical portion and being supported for rotational movement to advance the ribbon through said ribbon lifter. gripping member in the form of a spring coiled about the cylindrical portion of said drive member and having a free end extending from the cylindrical portion of said drive member and serving as a control portion for imparting rotational movement to said drive member upon movement of the control portion in one direction and for effecting relative rotational movement thereto upon movement of the control portion in another direction, an actuating means including an actuating linkage connected to said ribbon lifter and movable in response to the movement of said ribbon lifter between the lowered position and the elevated position for acting on the control portion of said gripping member,

said actuating means incuding a first abutment on said actuating linkage for engaging the control portion of said gripping member during movement in one direction for imparting rotational movement thereto, and a second abutment for engaging the control portion during movement in a reverse direction for effecting relative rotational movement to return the control portion to an initial position for subsequent engagement by said first abutment,

said second abutment of said actuating means being supported for movement relative to said first abutment of said actuating linkage, and

adjusting means operatively connected to said second abutment for moving said second abutment relative to said first element to selectively control the rotational movement imparted to said drive member in response to the movement of said ribbon lifter.

2. In a typewriter according to claim 1:

said actuating linkage having a slot formed therein and extending in a direction away from said first abutment formed on said actuating linkage,

said second abutment being a pin slidably received in the slot formed in said actuating linkage for movement therewith,

said adjusting means including an adjusting member connected to said pin and having a projecting pivot portion for pivotal movement thereabout,

said adjusting means including a detent arrangement for receiving the projecting pivot portion of said adjusting member and supporting said adjusting member for pivotal movement about the projecting pivot portion,

said detent arrangement defining a plurality of supporting positions for the pivot portion of said adjusting member, and

said pivot portion of said adjusting member being selectively movable to each of the plurality of supporting positions defined by said detent arrangement for moving the pin of said second abutment relative to said first abutment.

3. In a typewriter, the combination comprising:

a ribbon lifter for carrying a ribbon and being movable from a lowered rest position to an elevated position to place the ribbon at a printing position,

a drive member supported for rotational movement to advance the ribbon through said ribbon lifter,

a gripping member having a control portion and being associated with said drive member for imparting rotational movement to said drive member upon movement of the control portion in one direction and for effecting relative rotational movement thereto upon movement of the control portion in another direction,

actuating means associated with said ribbon lifter and movable in response to the movement of said ribbon lifter between the lowered position and the elevated position for acting on the control portion of said gripping member,

said actuating means including a first abutment for engaging the control portion of said gripping member during movement in one direction for imparting rotational movement thereto and a second abutment for engaging the control portion during movement in a reverse direction for effecting relative rotational movement to return the control portion to an initial position for subsequent engagement by said first abutment,

adjusting means for selectively adjusting the spacing of the second abutment relative to the first abutment for varying the rotational movement imparted to said drive member,

said adjusting means including an adjusting member carrying said second abutment and being selectively movable from a first position to a second position to increase the distance between the first and second abutments, and

said adjusting means further including detent means for holding said adjusting means at the first position or the second position.

Q UNITED I STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION I Da ted Sept-ember 1Q 925 Patent No. 1 gm 511 I IIi fl Hans-Georg Hggelhaupt It is certified that erfor appears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters P'atentaxe hereby corrected as shown-below:

Column 4, claim 1, iinegg, "incuding" shoflld be--i'ncluding--.

Column 4, claim 1, line "element" should be--abutment--.

Signed and sealed this 19th day of November 1974.

(SEAL) Attest:

McoY M. GIBSON JR. c. MARSHALL DANN Attesting Officer 3 Commissioner of Pat nts Y USCOMM-DC wan-Pea ".5. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE III, -SCl-l3l,

F OR" PO-\ 050 (10-69) 

1. In a typewriter, the combination comprising: a ribbon lifter for carrying a ribbon and being movable from a lowered rest position to an elevated position to place the ribbon at a printing position, a drive member having a cylindrical portion and being supported for rotational movement to advance the ribbon through said ribbon lifter. a gripping member in the form of a spring coiled about the cylindrical portion of said drive member and having a free end extending from the cylindrical portion of said drive member and serving as a control portion for imparting rotational movement to said drive member upon movement of the control portion in one direction and for effecting relative rotational movement thereto upon movement of the control portion in another direction, an actuating means including an actuating linkage connected to said ribbon lifter and movable in response to the movement of said ribbon lifter between the lowered position and the elevated position for acting on the control portion of said gripping member, said actuating means incuding a first abutment on said actuating linkage for engaging the control portion of said gripping member during movement in one direction for imparting rotational movement thereto, and a second abutment for engaging the control portion during movement in a reverse direction for effecting relative rotational movement to return the control portion to an initial position for subsequent engagement by said first abutment, said second abutment of said actuating means being supported for movement relative to said first abutment of said actuating linkage, and adjusting means operatively connected to said second abutment for moving said second abutment relative to said first element to selectively control the rotational movement imparted to said drive member in response to the movement of said ribbon lifter.
 2. In a typewriter according to claim 1: said actuating linkage having a slot formed therein and extending in a direction away from said first abutment formed on said actuating linkage, said second abutment being a pin slidably received in the slot formed in said actuating linkage for movement therewith, said adjusting means including an adjusting member connected to said pin and having a projecting pivot portion for pivotal movement thereabout, said adjusting means including a detent arrangement for receiving the projecting pivot portion of said adjusting member and supporting said adjusting member for pivotal movement about the projecting pivot portion, said detent arrangement defining a plurality of supporting positions for the pivot portion of said adjusting member, and said pivot portion of said adjusting member being selectively movable to each of the plurality of supporting positions defined by said detent arrangement for moving the pin of said second abutment relative to said first abutment.
 3. In a typewriter, the combination comprising: a ribbon lifter for carrying a ribbon and being movable from a lowered rest position to an elevated position to place the ribbon at a printing position, a drive member supported for rotational movement to advance the ribbon through said ribbon lifter, a gripping member having a control portion and being associated with said drive member for imparting rotational movement to said drive member upon movement of the control portion in one direction and for effecting relative rotational movement thereto upon movement of the control portion in another direction, actuating means associated with said ribbon lifter and movable in response to the movement of said ribbon lifter between the lowered position and the elevated position for acting on the control portion of said gripping member, said actuating means including a first abutment for engaging the control portion of said gripping member during movement in one direction for imparting rotational movement thereto and a second abutment for engaging the control portion during movement in a reverse direction for effecting relative rotational movement to return the control portion to an initial position for subsequent engagement by said first abutment, adjusting means for selectively adjusting the spacing of the second abutment relative to the first abutment for varying the rotational movement imparted to said drive member, said adjusting means including an adjusting member carrying said second abutment and being selectively movable from a first position to a second position to increase the distance between the first and second abutments, and said adjusting means further including detent means for holding said adjusting means at the first position or the second position. 